


Spanish Ballads.

by BubblegumCannibal



Series: Sins of the Stars [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, Other, brief mention of Reaper76, platonic comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 18:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7724890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubblegumCannibal/pseuds/BubblegumCannibal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were rumors circulating the halls of Overwatch of a man holding a ghosts face. Jesse can't help the fact that he was curious. Seeing Jack always spending his free time in this one spot has made him curious of why until one day all he hears is music. Spanish ballads to be specific. Now wants to face the music, so to say, and believe the stories of if the wraith is actually Gabriel Reyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spanish Ballads.

**Author's Note:**

> I enjoy sharing headcanons with you guys. So I've left one at the end. Please enjoy~

The new headquarters feels the same no matter how different it is. White halls and sparkling floors just to showcase how “pure” the organization really was—that just happened to still be one of the biggest lies this corporation has ever told. Or that’s what sat within the mind of Jesse McCree.

Though new lives entered at one point softened, they left through hangar doors as hardened soldiers never meant for this life.

Yet, most things, despite that, remained the same. The corridors that led to personal quarters sat wide, extravagant, and homely, but… But no matter what, there was always something out of the ordinary, today just happened to be the _soldier._ Mask at his side, he sat on the floor with his head at his knees and shoulder pressed against ebony door.

Every so often the blonde doctor would stray past and run her fingers through the white tufts of his hair and he’d give a soft, torn noise. Apparently he was only there for the comfort of being close to nothing — “Makes the heart feel whole again.” Either that or he didn’t want to admit that the soft music coming from the inside was pulling him in.

This _was_ the room of that shrouded ghost— _Reaper,_ wasn’t it? The younger ones had question on if they knew each other once before, but he was a Strike-Commander (or at least that was the rumor). What did he need with a terrorist?

Not like anyone could quite drag the answer out of him. Alas, the ex-Commander just stands to his feet once the Cowboy arrives and gives him a firm stare. Never liked that boy all too much… but he was a better sight that what sat within that room. He’s far too upset with himself — _his past —_ to care about why he was there. Perhaps they have the same reason, **_the music._** Soft, muffled Spanish ballads trickled from the door and had them bewitched. Though one a student, almost family in the eyes of those who watched the wraith bring him up from nothing, while the other was a friend.

   A partner.

   **_A lover._**

Jack won’t deny it, no matter how long they stand there, staring blankly at the door, he’s worried… but this must be hell for Jesse.

Yet, on the inside, the room sits dimly lit. Windows lined with darkened film, still with that light music playing off in the far corner of the flat. It’s Gabriel, or at least the sight of him, lain horizontally across the massive, unused bed, shirtless and watching his form flicker back and forth, skin dancing from an empty noir, to brow, to that lifeless shade of sandy tan and back again.

Here he lies disgusted with himself. Disgusted with Overwatch. Disgusted with the fact that _he came back._ Why did he come back? **_She_** was still here. Angela. Felt like she had turned a blind eye to what Moira had done him to made him into… **_THIS._** A monster and there was no saving him. Would have been nice to have been left to die with Ana… at least then he wouldn’t have suffered and he would have been ridded of this God-forsaken curse even if Amari still breathed.

Gabriel Reyes is dead. That’s what he keeps telling himself, even _if_ the truth lies there watching it decompose and reform. In fact, Gabriel is still there. He can never escape the torment of his own mind, even if it keeps screaming the truth over and over again:

_I’m still here! This beast is not me! **I AM STILL HERE!**_

—And he is. There’s simply no way to prove it.

There’s silence—a long, agonizing pause between songs before he could hear a knock. Gabriel kept quiet, not wanting to respond for no one had seen him like this. With the sunshine warming his chest the best it could through dark tinted windows, he stared at the trees outside. Maybe if he stopped the music all together, the person would go away.

_Another knock._

                Then the breathtaking shudder of the handle turning.

                                                                No. _No._

Clouds of thick black erupted from him, dissipating his form to escape out of view and slither over to the bits and pieces of his clothing and armor. Quickly, he must move _quickly_ , sliding his shirt over his head and snapping his armor on quickly just to be caught with his coat taut in his gloved fingers.

“Don’t hide from me,” The door had not pushed too far open, but it gave Gabriel time to slip into what shadows he could. That long pause is still there, stuck in the air like a sharp blade, “I… I’m comin’ in.”

There’s no pulse in that man anymore, but he could feel that phantom heart beating erratically in his chest. It had been years since he felt such a tremble like this in his hands. They don’t need to see him like this. No one deserves to see him like this.

“Mijo…” That gravelly voice drew on that, viscid smoke trailing from his mouth. From what could be seen, the color in his eyes flickered back and forth, glowing from that unnatural red to a soft ruby.

Jesse can still see him. He can still see that man in his face, but… he’s not Gabriel. “Y’ain’t lost y’self that much, have ya? T-that’s good.”

“ _Leave._ ”

But he is still there, _there’s simply just no **proof.**_

This isn’t what he had expected to see as he slipped into the dark room. In the back of Jesse’s mind, he had envisioned a nightmarish creature made by Frankenstein with too many eyes and a row of razor sharp teeth ready to eat and gnash away at him. He had hoped for scars stitched at his throat and arms, then monstrous scars to gnarl and distort his face.

Not this. Never this. That was the lifeless face of a man he respected. Someone who should have been buried years ago.

“What did she do to ya?”

“ ** _Leave._** ”

“No! Y’gonna have to deal with me whether y’like it or not.”

McCree closes the door, back flat against it has he stood tall. Terror may not have shown in his face, but it sparked in his eyes. Fear of losing the last bit of unwilling family that he had ever gained stung deep in his heart and if he had to pretend that this man was just as normal as the rest of them, he’d close his eyes and pretend he could see the moon blindfolded.

Jesse knows — O’Lord does he know that the man is in there somewhere. He can feel it. Gabriel was a mentor, was he not? A father he unknowingly adopted into his life as Reyes did him. It’s horrifying to see him so mutilated that he’s almost afraid to believe that this may have been a literal husk of his mentor’s former self.

“Mijo, please.” His voice hisses, fingers black and devoid of color waved him away slowly. The longer the gunslinger stood in the room the more it became increasingly uncomfortable for him to be there.

Instead Jesse shakes his head, removing his hat from his head just to give Gabriel enough time to snake his way up to the cowboy. A stream of thick, dark mist almost encased him, pressing up against him like a viper crushing its prey within a vice grip, but Jesse was calm… He was always calm.

“I just… I needed to see if it was actually you.” Jack couldn’t do it. Said he didn’t have the heart to believe Ana’s words.

Brows furrow in anger. Gabriel’s hands are cold and he smells of leather and iron. The scent is almost nostalgic if the cowboy hadn’t been frozen in fear just from the _touch_ from Gabriel Reyes. He just had to know didn’t he?

“That… is what you want?” Words come out slow, drawn breathlessly as the younger man gives an expected nod. He is a beast, through and through, but– if that’s what the Jesse McCree wants.

Jesse held his breath for a moment, nails deep within the fabric of the hat. He had only seen a harsh, angry glimpse of Gabriel’s face and he desired to know more. If he had not inquired further on this man, he wouldn’t be standing here, but curiosity kills the cat. However, most of this had stemmed from what had been seen after battle. Jesse wanted to know what monstrosity builds from days of binging on bodies. _No–_   **souls.**  That’s what Morrison’ said, right? The man scarfs down souls to give his body the sustenance that it needed.

But now? A few days without, he’s told to keep his distance. Those words bring worry to Jesse’s heart.

Yet he watches in silence as Gabriel stepped back, slowly removing his clawed gauntlets. With the dim lighting, it made things… interesting. Reaper’s body held such a colorless hue– almost like dry sand, lifeless and dead.

This…  _husk_  of a man stands tall, still holding that flickering visage of a corpse. Gabriel almost seems like a drawing to Jesse, one that sat in the beginning stages of being colored and long since abandoned.

“And you can… uh… remember things in this state?”

“In depth…”

“H-have y'told Jack–”

Reyes’ gaze snaps to the sharpshooter. Seems like his eyes are the only thing that haven’t changed, sans the color, “Do not tell him of what you’ve seen.”

“Gabe…”

Red eyes narrowed, that faint glow giving a noticeable spark within the darkened lighting. That wasn’t his name– it was merely a title now.

“Keep this to yourself,  **boy.**  You got what you wanted. Now go.” He just wants to be alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon ahoy!
> 
> Gabriel Reyes during Blackwatch was a kind man, at first. He was a strict and demanding leader where many just didn't quite like him. Jesse McCree just happened to be one of them. Brash and loud, no matter how he showed out, there was respect for his mentor somewhere that eventually they adopted each other. Gabriel was the father he never wanted and Jesse became the son who annoyed him, but they made things work. During this time, he and Jack were dating on the side.
> 
> But Gabe unwillingly joining Overwatch was under the thought of _Gabriel_ wanting to redeem himself rather than Reaper. Reaper wanted to kill, maim and destroy while Gabriel needed mental redemption. Once everything was done and gone, he could go back without a second thought. For the time being, he silently wants to feel a bit more human again... as if everything is normal again.


End file.
